Have I ever mentioned how sick of headhunters I am? Well I am. I don’t want their phone calls. I don’t want their emails. I don’t want the crappy job they’re offering, and I don’t know anyone who is qualified to apply for the crappy job they’re offering. It’s not crappy, they say? I don’t care. I don’t want to discuss it.
I know you didn’t “get my name from someone while networking.” That lie is old. Quit using it. I know you found me in a CPA directory or on the internet. When you lie, I hate you even more. So can we stop the charade?
What must I do to get headhunters to quit contacting me? Any suggestions are deeply appreciated.
PrePaid Legal boasts their “legal services plan.” The truth is that very few legal services are ever provided under the plan. If you have a criminal case, contrary to what you’ve been told, the plan is useless. You are told that you have something like 60 to 300 hours of “free” legal services.
The truth is that those hours are for trial only. All the legal maneuvering up until then? You get 2.5 hours. That’s next to nothing. You will need hours of services before the trial that you will pay dearly for.
I wrote this one for WalletPop as tax season was wrapping up, but I liked it so much that I’m reprinting it here!
The agony of doing taxes is just about over for another year. I have only five tax returns left to do, and all the extensions have been filed, so we’ve got plenty of time. I don’t do many tax returns anymore, and I’m thankful. I don’t think I have the patience to do a lot of them.
Hopefully your tax preparer has more patience than I do, but you can test the waters with these five simple ways to drive her or him crazy: Read the rest of this entry »
The Essentials of Corporate Fraud book tour is going full steam ahead. Next week I’ll be talking with a group of accountants, attorneys, and bankers in Milwaukee on How To Commit Fraud and Get Away With It… A look at how management can spot the warning signs of corporate fraud.
Come join Corporate Casual at their April 29 meeting at the Milwaukee Bar Association: Read the rest of this entry »
A few months ago I agreed to read and review An American Hedge Fund by Timothy Sykes. I’ve been a bit remiss in writing the review, but am finally ready to share my thoughts. The best way I can describe Tim is that he’s a character. He is a young ambitious guy, but he’s got some over-the-top ideas that I hope don’t do him more harm than good.
His creativity in regard to the stock market and growing assets is fantastic. He wrote his book to give ordinary people a peek into the life of a day trader. Tim made many mistakes while he was growing his $12k+ Bar Mitzvah money into over $1.65 million. (Incidentally, he’s working on repeating that feat just to prove that he didn’t just get lucky.) And he’s not hiding those mistakes. He’s telling the world about them.
I liked the book. I really did. I think it could have been even better with a stronger editor, though. The story is inspiring, but at the same time Tim spares no criticism of himself and the mistakes he made. What I think the book lacked is a bit of the “how-to” that I expected from it. I really enjoyed Tim’s story, and feel that adding some practical tips along with his story would have been a big benefit to the book. Read the rest of this entry »
Today I sent out an email to all my business contacts announcing my new book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud. The email included a little bit about the book (what it’s about, who it’s for), a link to purchase it from Amazon.com, and a request for bloggers to mention it on their sites if they were so inclined.
I admit being a bit giddy. But how often does one have their first book published??? Well, I think it’s exactly once or never, depending on your circumstances. So my “once” is pretty special to me.
And one by one, I got lovely notes back from clients, associates, and friends.
And then there was “the” response. This response came from someone I respected greatly, until today. I had spent several thousand dollars in the past on his seminars and had purchased several of his books. I recommended him to many other professionals, and encouraged them to buy his books. I was recently eagerly looking at his seminar list, mulling over which seminar I’d be ready for next. (Another several thousand dollars for one of those.) Read the rest of this entry »
How often in your professional life have you been told to “get outside your comfort zone”? What you’re being told is: Do more of what you dislike and Do more of what you’re not good at.
How much sense does that make? You are being encouraged to beat your head against a wall, because somehow that is supposed to help you get ahead or make you a better person?
Really, that makes no sense to me. And it makes no sense to Dan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach. Strategic Coach is a program to help make successful entrepreneurs even more successful. And the number one guiding principle in the program is that of your “Unique Ability.” Read the rest of this entry »
You’re trying to develop your business and increase your name recognition and your professional profile. Do you even know where to begin? One of the most basic steps is asking for the opportunity… asking to be able to promote your company, asking others to promote you, asking to be paid more, asking do to something that gets you exposure…
Locally, I have been referred to as the queen of shameless self-promotion, and I can’t argue with that too much. I started my business from scratch, with literally no money, no clients, and no spouse to float me financially. Ever hear someone say “you eat what you kill”? Well that was definitely true for me.
Early on, I had the chance to meet E. Kelly Hansen (now E. Kelly Fitzsimmons) and she was a local media darling. She ran her own computer security firm and you couldn’t open the Business Journal without seeing a picture of her or a quote from her. I decided that I wanted to be “the Kelly Hansen of fraud.” I wanted my mug in the newspapers and in the magazines. Read the rest of this entry »
A couple of years ago, I didn’t understand why a friend of mine used Stamps.com. Who wants to pay $16 a month just for the privilege of printing their own postage, when you can go to the post office for free???
I quickly realized that going to the post office isn’t really free. How much time do you take away from your real business by running to the post office? Read the rest of this entry »
My first book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud, is not even done printing yet, and I am already starting to write my second book for John Wiley & Sons. How did I do it Well that’s all a bit of a mystery to me.
You see, the process was all so easy. There was none of this “write a book and pitch it to a publisher.” I didn’t go through the process of creating a massive book proposal and sending it to publishing companies.
The process was quite easy. I met my editor at an industry conference. We chatted for a short while and I expressed my interest in writing a book on fraud. We exchanged a few emails over the next three months, but not much came of it.
Until the day when I contacted my editor and said I was ready to get serious about writing and publishing a book. I wanted to know what I had to do in order to make it happen, because I was going to write a book and it was going to get published. It was just a matter of whether or not Wiley wanted to be my publisher. Read the rest of this entry »
Tracy Coenen is a forensic accountant and fraud examiner who investigates white collar crimes, including cases of financial statement fraud, embezzlement, tax fraud, and insurance fraud. She is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud and more than 100 articles on fraud featured in industry publications.
by 
